1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an information managing apparatus for creating and managing a plurality of different personal information such as a schedule list, ToDo, address book, mail, etc., and to a data generation method as well as a computer readable record medium on which is stored an information management program. More particularly, it relates to an information managing apparatus ensuring an integrated entry of data items necessary for the creation and management of the plurality of different personal information, and to a data generation method as well as a record medium having a thereon stored information managing program.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Information processing equipment for personal use such as portable remote terminals, personal computers, etc., has hitherto employed a personal information management system known as PIM (Personal Information Manager) or PDA (Personal Data Assistant). Such a personal information management system has built-in functions for personal information management including a schedule list management for creating and managing schedule lists, a ToDo management for setting and managing what to do for what purposes as in e.g., creation of transactions, and an address book management for creating and managing address books. Furthermore, due to recently indispensable exchange of electronic mails, some personal information management systems have an additional mail management function for managing creation, sending and reception of electronic mails. Some systems for supporting operations by plural persons, which may be called groupware, also have such a plurality of management functions.
By the way, in the cases where a plurality of different management functions for the schedule list management, ToDo management, address book management, mail management, etc., have been incorporated into the information management system, there is a need to enter data necessary for the creation of management information on a management function basis while switching the management functions. When holding a meeting for example, the schedule list management function is used to enter data required for creation of the meeting schedule list, the ToDo management function is used to enter data required for creation of transactions and setting of the schedule, and the mail management function is used to enter data items necessary for creation of memos to be distributed to attendants at the meeting or creation of call-up letters in the form of mails. This means that in order to hold the same meeting, same data must separately be entered, on a management function basis, through the schedule list management function, the ToDo management function, and mail management function, respectively. Thus, in case of increased number of types of the management functions, data entry operations may often become cumbersome and be liable to err.
According to the present invention there are provided an information managing apparatus and data creation method as well as a record medium having an information management program stored thereon, ensuring a simple entry operation of data for a plurality of different information management functions to achieve an easy creation of information without any inconsistency in the contents of entry data among respective management functions.
The information managing apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of different information management functions and comprises a data selection unit for selecting data items corresponding to each of the management functions from entry data; and a data generation unit for generating data for each of the management functions using the data items thus selected. According to such an information managing apparatus of the present invention, in cases where creation of a plurality of different information such as schedule list, ToDo, mail, etc., is required for one event as in e.g., holding a meeting, it will become unnecessary to perform individual entry on a management function basis while switching to each management function for data entry, thereby ensuring a simple creation of information without any inconsistency, to achieve a highly convenient information management and operations. The information managing apparatus of the present invention further comprises an entry screen display control unit for displaying on a display screen a single entry screen for the entry of the data. The information managing apparatus of the present invention further comprises a management function selection unit for selecting a desired management function generating the data. In the information managing apparatus of the present invention, the entry data include a plurality of items, and the data selection unit selects items related to each of the management functions. The data selection unit selects items related to each management function from the entry data on the basis of correspondence information (data item correspondence list) previously defining each management function and items to be selected therefor. The data generation unit generates data for the management functions in which each of the selected data is allocated to each data element. Furthermore, the data generation unit generates one data element of data for the management functions by use of the selected plurality of data.
The present invention further provides a data generation method for generating respective data for a plurality of different information management functions, the method comprising an entry step for entering data; a selection step for selecting data corresponding to each of the management functions from the entry data; and a generation step for generating data for each of the management functions by use of the selected data. This data generation method further comprises a display step for displaying on a display screen a single entry screen for the entry of the data. It further a function selection step for selecting a desired management function generating the data. The entry data include a plurality of items, and the data selection step comprises selecting items related to each of the management functions. The selection step comprises selecting items related to each management function from the entry data on the basis of correspondence information previously defining each management function and items to be selected therefor. The generation step comprises generating data for the management functions in which each of data selected in the selection step is allocated to each data element. The generation step comprises generating one data element of data for the management functions by use of the plurality of data selected in the selection step.
The present invention further provides a computer readable record medium in which is stored an information management program for causing a computer to perform an entry step for entering data; a selection step for selecting data corresponding to each of management functions from the entry data; and a generation step for generating data for each of the management functions by use of the selected data. In this case there is stored the program for causing the computer to further perform a display step for displaying on a display screen a single entry screen for the entry of the data. There is also stored the program for causing the computer to further perform a function selection step for selecting a desired management function generating the data. The entry data include a plurality of items, and the data selection step comprises selecting items related to each of the management functions. The selection step comprises selecting items related to each management function from the entry data on the basis of correspondence information previously defining each management function and items to be selected therefor. The generation step comprises generating data for the management functions in which each of data selected in the selection step is allocated to each data element. The generation step comprises generating one data element of data for the management functions by use of the plurality of data selected in the selection step.
The above and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.